[2] In February 1995 he beat Paul Burke to take the British lightweight title, stopping the defending champion in the sixth round.
[6] In March 1999 he stopped Luis Flores in the fourth round to take the vacant IBO World lightweight title.
He made six successful defences of the World title, against Mkhuseli Kondile, Daniel Sarmiento, Tony Miller, Mehdi Labdouni, and twice against Wayne Rigby, the first of these voted 'British fight of the year' by Boxing News.
[10] In November 2001 he moved up a weight to challenge for Sarmiento's IBO super lightweight title, losing via a unanimous points decision.
Ayers returned to the ring in July 2003 to fight Jon Honney, but lost a six-round points decision, after which he retired for good.